Sometimes the simple life equals the good life

I recently went to Chelsea Market in NYC – it’s basically an enclosed urban food court (among other things). The main reason for my trip was to go with a friend and eat atBeyond Sushiwhich has an innovative and artful approach when it comes to traditional sushi - just about everything on the menu is vegan!

The founder of Beyond Sushi is Guy Vaknin – the name might be familiar to those who enjoy cooking shows as he was acontestant on season 10 of Hell’s Kitchen. Guy came up with his idea for vegetarian and vegan sushi while serving as the Executive Chef ofEsprit Events, a catering company in New York. While at New York’s first vegan show, they debuted a vegan sushi station, and after seeing the demand for healthy vegan food, Beyond Sushi was born.

As you can see from the photo above, the sushi is very colorful and is artfully crafted. The ingredients are all natural (though not 100% organic) and a lot of the produce comes from the Union Square Farmer’s Market. Almost all the rolls are vegan (I think I read somewhere that they do sometimes offer a roll made with egg – not quite sure about this but they show all ingredients for every roll - As you can see from the comment(s) below Beyond Sushi no longer uses eggs so they are fully vegan). Beyond Sushi keeps to Asian flavors using ingredients like toasted sesame, sliced nori, chili-flakes and black and six-grain rice.

While they may not have the most extensive menu that some may come to expect when visiting a sushi restaurant in NYC, they do have a nice variety. Additionally, Beyond Sushi offers a roll of the month and a piece of the week which helps to keep the menu fresh and exciting.

The prices are affordable and in line with what you’d expect to pay for when it comes to really good vegan food in NYC. Rolls are $6.95 for 8 pieces (except for the roll of the month which is $8.27), hand rolls are $3.27 and individual pieces are $1.15 per piece. They also offer some delicious wraps and amazing desserts.

I ended up getting the Green Machine which is made with cucumber and asparagus and rolled inside of six-grain rice and comes with a jalapeno wasabi sauce. I also got myself a Mighty Mushroom roll made with enoki, tofu shiitake and arugula and comes with a shiitake teriyaki sauce. On top of that, I got two individual pieces: one mango piece and one seaweed piece.

The rolls were fantastic and so pretty that I almost felt bad eating them! As you bite into each piece, you can really taste the freshness of the different vegetables on your palate. I loved the sauces that come with each roll as they really complemented the flavor and gave an additional flavor boost. The pieces were also good though nothing special.

I decided to be glutenous and get myself a Nutty Buddy which a lot of people on Yelp recommended getting. It’s made with buckwheat noodles, tofu, cashews, jalepeno peanut butter, carrots, avocado and cilantro. This is probably one of the most delicious vegan food items that I’ve ever had… seriously, I can eat one of these for lunch every day and not get sick of them.

For dessert I got myself a coffee and chocolate coconut oat round. I was too stuffed from my meal to enjoy it there so I ended up having it the next day. This little ball of goodness is a little natural lump of heaven… so, so good… I don’t even want to think about how many calories it must have been. If you like coffee, chocolate and/or coconut then you should definitely make a point to pick one of these up.

If you’re looking for delicious vegan food in NYC or are a sushi fan looking for a unique spin, then I would recommend that you give Beyond Sushi a shot.